Kelly leaves way open to Starcke sale

By Nick Everett

BRISBANE -- Federal environment minister Ros Kelly stated, on August 24, that the sale to developers of Starcke, a wilderness area of cultural significance to the Yimidhiuu and Gambiil Aboriginal tribes, should be delayed until the Cape York Land Use Study (CYPLUS) is complete.

Starcke cover 10% of Cape York Peninsula, including 100 km of coastline. It consists of 200,000 hectares of renewable government lease hold property and 24,000 hectares of free hold property. The land was made available to George Quaid Holdings for development purposes by the former National Party government of Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

“The proposed sale of Starcke is a matter of national concern”, said Mike Winer, Cairns campaigner for the Wilderness Society. “The federal government must halt the overseas sale of Starcke by using powers under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act. This must be followed by a full and independent inquiry by the Queensland government into how George Quaid Holdings obtained the land in the first place.”

Visiting Aboriginal elders Peter Costello and Goonbra Jacko called for the land to be returned to its traditional owners, rather than sold by George Quaid Holdings to overseas investors. Peter Costello, who was moved from the land to a settlement when he was 10, claimed that Labor Premier Wayne Goss had been using scare tactics to erode public support for land rights claims. He fears that Kelly is using the CYPLUS study to stall the Aboriginal people's claim to the land with the intention of having it sold off. Meanwhile, Goss has given a commitment to allowing development to continue during the CYPLUS process.

Winer stated that “The (Wilderness) Society is also gravely concerned that the outcome of CYPLUS will reflect its pro-development leanings. It places a heavy emphasis on finding and mapping exploitable resources.

“We are facing more than the overseas sale of a large slab of our disappearing wilderness heritage. We are facing the final dispossession of a proud and strong culture in the International Year of Indigenous People. Now is the time to return Starcke to its traditional custodians!” concluded Winer.

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